Improvement in spinning-mules



J. WATTS.

, Spinning-Mules.

No.149,8I5 Patented April 14,1874.

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PATENT Fr -on JAMES WATTSQOF LAVVRENOE, MASSACHUSETTS.

wlMPROVEMENT lN SPlNNlNG-MULES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 1519.8 [5, dated April 14, 1874 application filed December 15, 1873.v

To all whom it may cancer n:

Be it known that I,'-JAMEs WATTS, of Lawrence, Essex county, Massachusetts, have invented certain Improvements in Spinning- Mules, of which the following is a specification:

The object of my present invention is to produce a firmer and more full-bodied cop than has yet been accomplished, and to prevent the loss of time and injury to the mule-carriage which now frequently results from the want of a device which will effect the result I aim at. The invention consists in attaching to the upright frame of a mule-head, which guides the movements of the traveling carriage, an adjustable brake or abutment, so disposed with respect to the outgoing movement of the said carriage as to bring rip-against the pawl which drives the cylinder-shaft in the act of winding the cop, this impact of the brake and pawl being so timed with respect tothe going out of the carriage as to take place the moment the carriage brings up against the stop, which arrests its going-out traverse in order that the pawl may not prematurely be thrown into ongagement .with the ratchet-wheel by the shock of the meeting of the carriage and'stop, as now frequently occurs, with very injurious results in many respects.

The accompanying drawings, by which I 11- lustrate the character of my present improvement, represent, in Figure 1, a side elevation,

I in Fig. 2 a plan, and in Fig. 3 an end elevation,

going out of the carriage. The cylinder-shaft is shown at D, and the pawl and ratchet which effect the lowering of the faller-arm at E and F, respectively, the faller-rod or rock-shaft being shown at G, one of the arms at H, and the chain, connecting the latter to the disk or hub which carries the pawl, at I. The pawl and ratchet, which drivethe spindles in the act or windin g the cop during the running in of the shaft D, while the ratchet-wheel is fixed to and rotates with the said shaft as the latter is revolved by the pawl during the said running in of the carriage. The winding-drum, which, by means of the pinion M, drives the cylindershaft D, is shown at O as mounted upon a shaft, N, supported by the carriage O, and the chain which winds upon the drum during the outgoing of the carriage at I while Q represents what may be taken for a portion of the quadrant radial arm, which nods forward on ing or making of the yarn or thread, is shown at It. The dead-stop against which the can riage abuts, and by which its going-out movement is suddenly arrested, is shown at S as affixed to the mule-head standard. I

The above embraces essentially the portions of a spinning-mule to which my improvement relates, and which are of ordinary construction.

In carrying out my invention I attach to one end standard T of the frame A a drag or brake, U, arranged with respect to the carriage O and hub L, as shown in Fig. 1 of the accompanying drawings, this brake or stop being, in this instance, composed of a flexible bar suspended from a plate, V, which is adj ustably affixed to the standard T, and terminates at bottom in a foot or lateral bend, W, which, by preference, is a segment of a circle of equal circumference with the periphery of the hub L, and I prefer to face this foot with a leather shoe or other comparatively soft material, in order to avoid wear of the parts and prevent slipping between the said foot and hub.

One object I have had in imparting a certain degree of elasticity to the brake U, is that it may arrest the rotation of the hub or disk with a gradual and easy movement, the essential result being that the said disk and pawl are brought to a dead stop by the time the carriage has been also brought to a dead stop against the abutment S; but in consequence of the elastic character of the brake I am enabled to ad; just it the more readily to the movements of the carriage and its stop than I could do if a rigid bar were employed.

Heretofore, in the operation of spinningmules, the carriage, as it brings up in its goingout traverse against the stop S, is suddenly arrested, and the driving-pawl J is, by the shock, prematurely thrown into engagement with the ratchet K, the result of which is that, the pawl being jammed tightly into the ratchet, the reverse movement of the pulleyR, which is requisite to unwind the cop,forafew turns can= not take place, the faller-arm is prevented from dropping, and the quadrant radial arm is drawn out of place, while if the reversing mechanism is sufficiently powerful to overcome the hold of the chain upon the winding-drum such chain is broken, as not infrequently takes place. A common subterfuge of spinners to remedy the evil has been to bend the pawl or push it some distance away from the ratchet, the result of which is that if the shock of the stopping of the carriage does not throw the pawl prematurely into engagement with its ratchet, the latter rotates some distance before the pawl engages it, the winding-drum will rotate the shaft D, and the spindles will not begin their functions with the running in of the carriage, much slack yarn accumulates, and a comparatively soft and imperfect cop is the result. If a chain is broken, it must of course be replaced by a new one. If not, the mule must be stopped, the chain slackened to release the pawl, the radial arm set back and properly adjusted, and the faller-arm also properly readjusted. From inattention or ignorance the spinner, in many instances, does not properly readjust the radial arm, and the chain is left slack; consequently the carriage in running in suddenlytightens the chain, and its momentum breaks the latter, and slack yarn is again the result, thus, from another cause, necessitating stoppage of the mule, and loss of time in repairing and readjustment.

It is very important, in order to produce a perfect cop, that the'dri ving-pawl should engage with its ratchet the instantthe running in of the carriage commences, in order that the spindles shall begin to rotate and wind the yarn with such movement of the carriage, as, if this is accomplished, no slack yarn results.

By the employment of my brake, in addition to its many advantages, I am enabled to set the pawl so closely to the ratchet that it cannot slip by a tooth of the latter, but invariably engages the first tooth next it, for the reason that said brake arrests the pawl in the ex act position in which it is left when the carriage begins its going-out traverse, and locks the pawl in this position against the shock of the stoppage of the carriage. The instant the reverse movement of the spindles has ceased, and the carriage, in beginning its running-in movement, leaves the stop S, the pawl, hub, or disk L moves away from the drag and is free to rotate and allow the winding-drum to drive the spindles, thus instantly beginning to wind the yarn and prevent slack.

Briefly, my improvement accomplishes the following valuable results: More yarn is wound upon a cop of given bulk, the cop produced is firmer, more even, and perfect, much valuable time is saved, which is otherwise lost in stopping and readjusting the mule, and much expcnse for new parts, and repairs of the mule, and waste of yarn, is economized.

Having now described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,

The brake or bar U, adjustably applied to the frame of the head and combined with the pawl J and its support, to operate substantially as shown and set forth.

JAMES \VATTS.

VVitu esses F. OURTIs, W. E. BOARDMAN. 

